FEAR FACTOR

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD BEGINS ITS VERY LAST SEASON PROMISING FAMILIAR FACES, SURPRISES AND, ULTIMATELY, CLOSURE 

- TARA BENNETT

LAST YEAR THE WALKING DEAD lumbered off into the record books, ending 11 seasons of storytelling as television’s most honoured horror franchise. But coming up from behind is its cousin in undead scares and post-apocalyptic woes, Fear The Walking Dead.

The first spin-off series of the franchise, Fear was devised by original Dead creator Robert Kirkman with Dave Erickson, and approached the same world-ending event through the eyes of the complicated Clark/Manawa blended family and the Salazar family of Los Angeles.

Across eight seasons, the series has changed considerably, taking a more nomadic approach to its storytelling, with an ever-evolving cast. Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) are the only original characters to have made it to the final season.

Under the guidance of long-time showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, Fear is now embarking upon its victory lap season, bringing its long journey to a close with 12 episodes and plenty of full-circle moments, including the return of Clark family matriarch Madison (Kim Dixon).

Now her ultimate fate, along with those of Alicia, Daniel, Strand and Morgan Jones (Lennie James) will be revealed, as the ensemble of characters audiences have come to love, or hate, get their dues.

HAIL PADRE 

Acknowledging the bittersweet scenario of getting a final season order, Chambliss tells SFX that it’s been daunting to tie up loose ends, but fulfilling to do so on their own creative terms. “We knew the number of episodes that we had to play with, so it really allowed us to tailor the story to fit those episodes,” he says.